Climate Change Threat Shown by Giant PH Storms

MANILA – Greenpeace global chief Kumi Naidoo said Sunday increasingly violent storms hitting the Philippines showed the world had to act on climate change, as Typhoon Hagupit barrelled across the country.

Naidoo was in the Philippines to “bear witness” to the damage done by Hagupit (Ruby), the strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year, and planned to visit some of the worst-affected areas on Monday.

“Nature does not negotiate, We actually have to wake up and smell the coffee. We need to understand that we are running out of time,” he said, in a warning to UN negotiators meeting in Lima, Peru, to hammer out the broad outlines of a new world pact on global warming.

Naidoo, the international executive director of the environmental group, said that the typhoon passing over the Philippines was an example of the massive damage poorer countries would experience if climate change worsens.

He said the storms hitting the Southeast Asian archipelago were getting stronger and stronger, showing the urgency for world governments to act quickly.

Naidoo blamed “all coal and gas companies and other polluting companies,” for the worsening climate problems, adding that it was unfair that they should make huge profits while poor nations suffer the ill-effects.